Hearts of Steel
by Sakura Courage Solo
Summary: Sonic Underground Fanfic: Manic's world is turned upside down when he and his siblings are captured and he's the only one to escape Roboticization. Now with the help of a group of Mercenaries, Manic will have to push it to the limit to get his sibs back!
1. Death Metal

"Hearts of Steel"

By Sakura Courage Solo

* * *

Author's Notes: All right, I guess I should firstly tell you all where the idea for this fanfic came from, right? Well, the idea actually came from a dream I had. I essentially dreamed I was in the form of my fursona (You can check around on my DA account for a pic of her. .com ) and helping Sonic, Manic and Sonia blow what I'm guessing from the sketchyness of the dream was maybe a power plant or a swatbot factory. I remember a weird explosion while Manic and I were on a high catwalk, and this roboticized version of Sonic attacked us.I remember us barely escaping by the skin of our teeth, and then for some reason Manic was blaming me for Sonic's roboticization. I woke up about that time and it dawned on me, "If I tweak it and add to it, this could make a good fanfic!". I needed an excuse to get back into the swing of writing anyway. I suppose the dream was almost hinting at me to write this with Manic blaming me for Sonic's roboticization, since technically I'm going to be writing it in the fanfic. I dunno. I just hope it'll be an enjoyable fanfic for the rest of you. n.n

Disclaimer: Okay, first and foremost I'm a near-broke college student. Sueing me would do little to no good. Secondly, if I DID own Sonic Underground (Which I don't), then there would've been a video game based on it. Essentially, I don't own SU and don't get paid for writing this. Now go read the fanfic.

* * *

Chapter 1

"Death Metal"

* * *

"They say that when a Mobian gets roboticized, they essentially become dead inside. I'm not so sure that's entirely true myself, but then again I've never been roboticized. All I know is that I've seen many people, some who were very close to me, get turned into mindless metal slaves time and time again. I don't know if they're dead inside, but a little bit of me dies whenever I see it happen.

Do roboticized Mobians actually think, or do their electronic brains do the thinking for them? I know one time our pendants helped to temporarily bring one roboticization victim to his senses, but it was only for a short time. Could that have been proof that he was inside that cold, hard shell the whole time? Or was he only able to make a temporary return to it with the help of our power? Would our meeting with the roboticized yet free willed leader of a band of desert rogues help answer that? Not sure. Not sure at all.

What I do know is that no matter who becomes a victim of roboticization or how far they seem to drift away because of it, we can never give up on them. We have to keep trying to not only get them back, but to give them freedom as well."

~Manic

"Freedom isn't a state of culture, its a privelege. A privelege everyone deserves, and we must do anything we can to regain and preserve that precious gift."

~Sakura

* * *

Little to no sound could be heard on the streets of Robotropolis that night. Even the Swatbots and other task performing 'bots in the city were mostly staying inside tonight, presumably working hard for their master. The only thing to eventually break the silence was the sound of footsteps; three sets of them to be exact.

Sonia quietly moved a finger to her lips in a motion for her brothers to remain quiet as they snuck around a few junk piles, making their way toward one of Robotnik's swatbot factories. Neither of the brothers had any problem complying with silence as they continued to move swiftly yet quietly. It didn't take them long to make it to the back door of the place, and things were almost beginning to seem too easy as they waited for their opening. Soon enough a huge pair of thick, steel doors spread open and allowed exit to a long hovercraft. The Hedgehogs took advantage, moving inside of the structure before the doors closed, careful not to be noticed.

Once inside, the three of them immediately headed for the main computer room. They fortunately wouldn't have to hunt it out, as Cyrus had already performed an internal scan of the building and given them excellent directions that would lead them straight to their destination. It didn't take them long to follow these instructions, soon finding themselves standing right outside the door of the main computer room. Sonia peeked inside through the door's small window.

"That's weird, there are no Swatbots manning the computers..."

She said, Sonic shaking his head as he replied,

"I don't like this. It feels too easy. Something isn't right."

"Doesn't matter. We're here now, and we need to finish the mission."

Manic told him, cracking the code on the door. Sonic just sighed and nodded, following his siblings into the room as he said,

"Yeah, you're right. Like this could really be one colossal trap."

He chuckled to himself, Sonia walking right to the keyboard and beginning to tap away at its metallic keys.

"Sonic, watch the door while I overload the system."

She told him, not wanting any visitors sneaking in behind their backs. Sonic was already on it, standing at the door and ready to fight if need be.

All was silent as Sonia continued her work... perhaps too silent. It was getting on the brothers' nerves, but Sonia was too busy working at overloading the system to take notice of the silence. She almost didn't even notice as Sonic began tapping his foot impatiently and asked,

"How much longer, Sis? This place is starting to mondo creep me out..."

"Just a little longer! This is a big system to overload!"

She told him, never losing her stride as she spoke, fingers dancing over the input device of the main computer.

Soon enough, her work paid off, and the computer began to overload. She smiled softly and turned to her brothers.

"Done! Let's go before it blows!"

She said with both triumph and haste, Sonic nodding and moving to grab his siblings for a mad dash out the door and towards the nearest exit, but that's when things got bleak. Before Sonic could start his run, alarms began going off and the 'main computer' simply fizzled out as thick steel panels came down over any and all possible exits in the room, preventing any form of escape. Sonic, Manic and Sonia fell silent for a moment in the realization that this HAD been one colossal trap all along... and there was no way out.

Of course, that wasn't to stop them from looking for a way out, the three frantically searching every inch of the room for any possible form of exit; a crack or weak spot in the wall or floor that Sonic could spin on and break apart, a ventilation grate, anything! Unfortunately, nothing was found.

"I don't believe this!"

Sonia cried, hands on either side of her head.

"The main computer was a fake! Robotnik must be controlling this Swatbot factory remotely!"

"And he used the fake mainframe as the bait to trap us!"

Manic added as both anger, frustration and worry all laced his voice at the same time. Sonic was still running around the room at high speed, continuing a futile search for any possible escape route. There were none. He finally came to a stop when he realized his search was useless.

"Great... now what do we do?"

He asked, not really expecting an answer. However, as Sonia tried to keep her cool, she gave her opinion of an idea,

"The best I can think of is wait for Robotnik and/or his Swatbots to come after us and fight our way out."

"Well, I can't think of anything better, but you can bet Buttnik's already thought of us trying that Sis."

Manic replied, Sonia heaving a frustrated sigh and nodding.

"You're probably right there, Manic. But what other choice do we have?"

She asked, running a worried hand through her hair. Sonic was glancing around the room, nose twitching a bit.

"Hey, does anyone else smell that?"

He asked, his siblings blinking and sniffing the air. Manic quirked a brow.

"I smell it, but I'm not sure what it is..."

He said, Sonia taking another sniff before gasping with a sudden realization and covering her mouth.

"Guys, its sleeping gas! Cover your mouth and nose!"

She told them, her brothers wasting no time in complying. Manic had been right; Robotnik HAD anticipated that they'd come out of the room fighting... IF there were able.

The siblings tried to stay awake, the gas seeping in through their fingers as they tried to keep their faces attempts were futile, and it didn't take long for the three to end up passed out on the floor.

* * *

Manic awoke with a groan some time later. After living for years on the streets, through fights and scuffles, his body had adjusted to come around quickly after being knocked out. He blinked his eyes several times, trying to get his bearings. Once he did, he came to the realization that two Swatbots were dragging him along, one holding each arm. Manic struggled a bit feebly, still somewhat under the influence of the knockout gas. Up ahead, he could see four more Swatbots carrying Sonic and Sonia. Manic had a pretty good idea of where they were being taken. He struggled again.

"S-sonic! Sonia! Wake up!"

He called, but they were still out cold. He sighed, looking around frantically to try and find some way out of this.

That's when they came to a huge, steel door at the end of the hallway. Said door slid open, revealing the Roboticization room behind it. Manic had been right again: Robotnik was going to turn them into mindless robotic slaves, just like he'd done to all his other prisoners. Said tyrant was standing just ahead, awaiting the arrival of his latest victims for the Roboticizer. He chortled gleefully as he watched the Swatbots bring the three Hedgehogs into the room, almost like a child whose parents would bring a huge birthday giftbox to him on his birthday. It was rather sickening to Manic.

The Swatbots lined up side-by-side before Robotnik to show the captives, Robotnik putting his hands together in pleasure as he looked over the three Hedgehogs. He began to gloat,

"Oh, happy day! If it wasn't against the law, I'd feel like singing! My worst enemies, now at my mercy before me! Oh, but what is this?"

He turned his attention to the struggling Manic.

"Hmm, a resilient one you are to come out from under the sleeping gas so soon... no matter. You're still going into the roboticizer, just like your siblings."

He chortled maniacally, Manic sneering as he continued to struggle, crystal blue eyes darting about for any possible way of escape. Robotnik walked to Manic, glowering over him.

"That's right, struggle. Keep thinking you can escape. The greater your fighting spirit, the greater the enjoyment is when I crush it."

The doctor smirked evilly, walking to his special seat and relaxing back into it as he gave the order for his Swatbots to throw Manic and the others into the Roboticizers. The Swatbots were in-hesitant to comply with their Master's commands, tossing the three Hedgehogs onto the platforms. Manic tries to get up and run before the metal cylinder came up around him, but he wasn't fast enough. He was trapped.

"No... this... this can't be right! This isn't supposed to happen!"

He started to bang on the cylindrical metal wall around him in both fear and anger.

"I... I can't get Roboticized! What about the council of four?! What about finding Ma?! What about freedom?!?!"

The chamber began to glow around him. This was it: he was going to be Roboticized, and there was nothing he could do about it. He swallowed hard, sinking to his knees on the floor of the chamber in defeat.

"I'm sorry, Ma..."

He whispered, tears welling up in his eyes.

However, that's when he heard electricity begin to pop and crackle around him, the glow of the roboticization chamber flickering before everything went completely dark. He blinked, looking around in the surrounding darkness confusedly. What had just happened? He slowly stood, hearing Robotnik and his Swatbots conversing outside.

"Roboticization Chamber #2 experiencing fatal malfunction, Sir. Robiticization Chamber #2 is no longer functional."

The Swatbot that was operating the Roboticizers told his master, Robotnik growling at the mishap and booming out,

"What?! No, there can't be a malfunction NOW! Not at my sweetest moment!"

He sneered, then tried to calm himself down.

"Then again, its only Manic in Chamber 2. He's nothing to worry about... complete the Roboticization of Sonic and Sonia, then proceed to Roboticize their brother."

"Yes sir."

The Swatbot said in utter compliance, Manic swallowing hard. He wasn't sure how to feel. On the one hand, he was lucky enough to be the only one not roboticized yet and now had SOME chance of escape, but on the other hand, if he couldn't escape then in his last moments of being flesh and blood, he would have to see the horror that would be his Roboticized siblings.

"... I can't just give up though. I have a chance to escape... if I can manage that, then maybe I can find a way to help them and all the other Roboticized Mobians someday..."

He thought, blinking as he heard the hum of the other roboticizers cease. He sighed, knowing that by now his brother and sister were metallic slaves to Robotnik. Regardless, he readied himself.

Soon enough, the mechanical layers of the metal cylinder around him began to descend. As soon as they had lowered down enough, he made a break for it. Manic leapt up on the side that would most likely be facing away from the Swatbots that would be waiting to grab him, gripping the edge of the metal cylinder and pulling himself over and out. He hit the floor running, not even exactly sure where he was going to go, but there wasn't exactly any available information for planning.

Ahead of him he saw an open garbage chute. Perfect! He glanced back over his shoulder, seeing the Swatbots coming after him with laser rifles ablaze. Manic jumped to and fro as he ran, barely evading most of the shots... MOST of them. One of the shots slammed into his shoulder, causing him to yell in pain, but he forced himself to continue running regardless. As the Swatbots almost caught up, he made one last ditch effort move and leapt as hard as his legs would allow toward the garbage chute. His leap was perfect, Manic going right into and down the chute with no problem. He sighed with a bit of relief.

That sigh soon turned into a grunt as he hit the side of the shaft, the chute turning on a diagonal incline. He slid along the metal piping, by now looking ahead and trying to somewhat control his slide to an extent that he might be able to stop himself or speed up should the need occur. He glanced back behind himself in slight paranoia, knowing that Robotnik and his Swatbots were too big to go into the garbage chute after him, but he felt the need to check and make sure. After all that had happened to him this day, perhaps feeling that need was rightful for him.

The duct turned, twisted and bent in its path, Manic continuing to work at controlling his slide as he made his way down the 'route'. That's when the incline turned sharply, sending the green Hedgehog straight down again. Manic slowed his slide as he saw it coming and spread his arms and legs, spiderwalking down the now vertical shaft. As he looked below, he could see an opening. He was nearing an exit!

He continued his spiderwalk until he was right at the end of the shaft, able to see a huge bin of discarded computer, machine and Swatbot parts. It was a long way down from the shaft opening to the top of the scrap pile below, but Manic knew he had to act fast, before they busted him down here. He braced himself as he retracted his hands and feet from the shaft walls, preparing for impact as he let himself drop.

He grunted as he landed atop the junk heap on his hands and feet, the impact pressuring his braced limbs. He'd heard a sickening crack in his ankle on impact. Bo doubt it had been broken. Regardless, Manic knew he still had to move. He climbed out of the bin, hissing in pain as his injured limb pressed against the metal floor, but he kept going.

He looked back over his shoulder. The door across the room was opening, and no doubt it was Swatbots coming to get him. His crystal blue eyes darted about frantically, his mind racing about 100 MPH. He quickly spied a garbage reciprocal, diving into it just as the door opened. Swatbots entered the room, beginning to search for him. Manic could feel his heart rise into his throat as he sat there in dead silence, praying he wouldn't be found. He eventually sighed with relief as he heard them leave, getting up and peeping out the swing-type door to make sure they'd all left. He heaved another sigh of relief when he found it was true.

He climbed out, shaking some of the garbage from his quills. He was thankful it was all dry garbage.

"Well... so far so good, I guess... now to finish this escape."

He said to himself, glancing around. He then looked to the scrap pile.

"Hm, that'll go to the scrap yard... right out in the easy open. Perfect. Now if I'd just thought to stay in there in the first place..."

He almost chuckled at himself, but he was still reeling mentally from the fact that he was the only one left as flesh and blood amongst his sibling. He grimaced at the thought as he cimbed back into the scrap heap, burying himself inside of an old Swatbot shell and starting to wait things out, trying futilely to ignore the throbbing pain in his ankle.

* * *

It hadn't taken too long for the scrap bin to be picked up by worker 'bots as they headed out for the scrap yard with it. Manic laid as quietly s he could... actually almost dozing off from the mental and physical exhaustion of everything that was going on. He could barely stay awake as he laid there in silence.

That's when he felt the movement of the bin come to a stop. Manic figured they'd made it to the junkyard, and so braced himself inside the Swatbot shell. The worker bots overturned the bin onto the huge junk pile before them, the metal refuse pouring out. Afterwhich, the worker bots quietly took the empty bin and their leave. Manic grunted as he waited until they were good and gone, then proceeding to dig himself out of the pile. It was a job, considering how much metal he was under, but he eventually managed. It was fortunate for him that those bins for the garbage chutes didn't hold a whole lot.

He dusted himself off after he had his feet back on the regular ground, grabbing a long metal pipe from the pile to use as a walking cane. The pain in his ankle was getting a lot worse. He cringed more at the thought of having to get it operated on than the pain itself. He observed his surroundings carefully for a moment before beginning to limp his way through the shadows and out of Robotropolis. Until...

"Freeze, Freedom Fighter."

A familiarly feminine yet electronic voice spoke out from behind him. Manic felt chills run down his spine as he slowly turned to face the owner of the saw two pairs of robotic red eyes glowing evilly at him from the darkness. Another Voice spoke, this one as familiar and electronic as the first, but masculine.

"Target RH-003 identified. Prince Manic Hedgehog."

Manic took a fearful step back, terrified as the two figures he was most afraid to see emerged from the darkness: A roboticized Sonic and Sonia. Metal Sonic stepped forward, preparing to grab Manic.

"You are under arrest."

* * *

End Chapter 1


	2. Iron Will

"Hearts of Steel"

by Sakura Courage Solo

Chapter 2

"Iron Will"

* * *

Manic's heart and emotions were in complete turmoil as he looked onto the metallic countenances of his siblings. Even after what he'd experienced in the Roboticization Chamber, it was hard for him to believe it was true: his beloved Brother and Sister were now mindless metallic slaves to Robotnik.

Manic took a nervous step back, swallowing hard. His voice was shaky from his shot nerves, but he tried to speak anyway.

"Bro... Sis.. its me, Manic... your Brother? Don't you remember?"

He asked, his voice cracking and rattling from his emotions and his physical state. He was hoping that somewhere deep down inside, maybe his siblings would remember him for who he was other than a target to capture.

The now metallic Sonic was quick to grab Manic by the arm however, staring at him coldly.

"Under the law of the Great Robotnik, you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent."

The blue Hedgehog of a robot said in a cold and unforgiving electronic voice. Manic felt a chill go down his spine again as he began to futilely struggle.

"S-sonic, stop! Please! Its me, your Brother! You gotta recognize me Bro, please!"

Manic plead, but it fell on deaf ears. The metallic Sonia took Manic by the other arm, she and her brother preparing to take Manic right back to the Roboticizer. The green Hedgehog felt like giving up.

However, that's when an EMP grenade was suddenly dropped into the area. The robotic two of the siblings immediately released their grip on their Brother as it went off, the electro-magnetic pulses sending their electronic minds spiraling. Manic fell to the ground as they released him, looking up in surprise as their metallic bodies went into what could only be described as robotic convulsions. The green Hedgehog slowly stood, looking around for whoever had thrown the grenade.

That's when someone suddenly grabbed him from behind, causing him to gasp in surprise with his already on-end nerves. Whoever grabbed him went into a mad rush away from the scene, moving through the back alleys of Robotropolis with ease and agility. Manic blinked his crystal blue eyes in surprise and looked to his 'grabber'.

He'd mostly expected a guy, so his surprise only grew when he saw it was a blonde Hedgehog woman with unusual aqua green eyes. She took a glance at him as she continued to run and asked,

"Are you all right?"

With Manic's mind in something of a haze from mental, physical and emotional stress at this point, he could only offer a nod of yes in response, even though that was hardly true. The Hedgehog woman didn't look back at him again, continuing her run without breaking her stride.

"Just hold on, I'm gonna get you somewhere safe."

She told him, Manic giving another half-hearted nod as he relaxed in her grip, glad he wasn't alone in this nerve-wracking situation any longer. As he relaxed, he felt his body succumb to the stress it had gone through. He fell into a deep and relaxing sleep.

* * *

Manic soon awoke to the smells of burning incense and various kinds of medicine. His head throbbed as if Robotnik had played Dance Dance Revolution on it, and we're talking way up there on the scale of like, 'Dragon Blade' on Supernova's 'Difficult' mode. Regardless, he slowly but surely sat up and took a look at his surroundings. He found himself in a room that oddly looked like a chamber in a cavern, but with furniture and lights that made it feel like a normal bedroom to some extent.

He blinked in confusion, wondering what this place was. He then winced as he felt some pain in his ankle, pulling back the covers to get a look at it. It had been set, cleaned, stitched, wrapped, etc. The whole works.

"Someone patched me up... was it that Hedgehog woman?"

He wondered aloud, then glancing to the night stand. On it was an incense burner, which was currently hosting some halfway burned Rose and Vanilla incenses. Beside the incense burner were some medical tools and bottles of medicine. Was she a certified doctor or something? He then noticed a pair of crutches leaned against the nightstand. He was in hesitant to take them, getting to his feet and starting towards the drapery-door, as there was no actual solid door there.

That's when the draperies were pulled aside as someone entered, a blue Fox woman with ruby chocolate eyes stepping into the room. She was an attractive sight to look at with shiny blue fur, her hair pulled into two shoulder length ponytails by red ribbons. Her slender body was clothed by a sleeveless red shirt, a pleated brown skirt and a pair of brown leather spaghetti strap sandals that accentuated her slim calves and elegant feet. Manic only found himself able to stop staring at her when she spoke to him,

"I see you're awake. How do you feel?"

The Fox woman asked in a smooth and mid-toned voice. Manic rubbed his forehead a bit and said,

"My head's pounding and my ankle hurts a little, but otherwise..."

The Fox woman smiled a bit, going to him as she replied,

"Good, it sounds like you've mostly been recovering for the past three days. The headache will go in a few minutes, it just hurts because you've been asleep for so long and your body itself hasn't quite 'woken up' yet. Now, back to bed with you, you still need rest!" She began to usher him back to the bed, Manic a bit shocked by part of her statement.

"Th-three days?"

He asked with a shaky voice of surprise as the Fox helped him lay back down. She pulled the covers back up to his neck and nodded.

"Yes, you've really been unconscious for that long, but at least you're back with it now and have gotten rid of all that apparent physical and mental fatigue you were experiencing."

She said, fluffing his pillow for him. Manic was still in a little shock, but that shock was soon replaced with another as he began to remember exactly what happened those three days before. He felt a lump form in his throat. It was finally really sinking in on him what had happened, and he felt there was nothing he could do about it.

The Fox woman took notice to his suddenly disturbed expression, blinking a bit.

"Hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

She asked, sitting in the chair by his bed. Manic snapped out of his daze of memory and looked to her.

"Huh? Yeah, fine, just... yeah."

Was all he could manage, the Fox sighing a bit. It was apparent to her that there was something wrong, but it was equally apparent that he wasn't ready to talk about it.

"Well, if you say so... anyway..."

She decided to try and get his mind off of whatever was bothering him.

"I apologize for my rudeness, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Vanna Linza re Fox, the doctor of this base. And you are?"

"Manic... Manic the Hedgehog... wait, did you say 'base'? As in the Resistance?"

Vanna scratched the back of her head a bit, ears tilting.

"Ah, not exactly... I mean we're all in this against Robotnik, but we're not exactly Resistance members..."

Manic quirked a brow, sitting back up in the bed so he could look at her on an even eye level.

"What exactly do you mean by that?"

He asked. Vanna seemed a bit nervous with her answer, as if skeptical that Manic would take it well. She finally replied however,

"We're... mercenaries."

"Mercenaries? Oh, I get ya. You're the type that won't get involved in anything dirty, but you won't fight the dirty either unless you're paid."

"Well I wouldn't say we're like that..."

She sighed a bit, seemingly hurt by Manic's feelings toward mercenaries. Manic felt a bit badly when he saw her reaction, looking down.

"Sorry Vanna, I... I shouldn't'a said that after you helped me like you did... "

"No, its all right, Manic. A lot of mercenaries out there are exactly what you just said, and that lot of them makes the few of us look bad. Listen, maybe it would be better if you talked with Sakura."

"Sakura..."

Manic thought for a moment, remembering the Hedgehog woman who had rescued him three days before.

"She wouldn't happen to be a blonde Hedgehog, would she? Aqua green eyes? Dark clothes?"

Vanna nodded and replied,

"That's her. She's our leader. Would you like for me to send her in?"

"Yes, please. I wanna thank her."

"Of course."

Vanna got up and exited the room. It didn't take long for Sakura's familiar face to enter the room, said face wearing a smile when she saw the now awake Manic. She chuckled softly as she walked toward him.

"So, I see Sleeping Beauty is finally awake. Did it take a kiss from Vanna to yank you from dreamland, mate?"

She joked, speaking with a heavy Australian accent. Manic couldn't help but chuckle at her joke.

Now while Manic had problems believing that someone who looked like Vanna was a mercenary, he had no problems whatsoever seeing that Sakura was capable of one such job. Her body was slim but well toned with muscles, body clothed by a pair of camouflage pants and a black shirt with the yellow Batman logo plastered across the front. In a holster at her hip hung a 357 Magnum, and judging by her movements, that hefty gun was NOT weighing her down any. She did hold some feminine traits amongst all that tomboyishness, her blonde quills attractively long and soft as lovely aqua green eyes looked into Manic's crystal blue ones. A crystal pendant hung around her neck.

Manic laid back on the pillows, head starting to throb some again as he chuckled again,

"Nah, I think it was the incense... or this headache one."

He cocked one corner of his mouth in a smirk, glancing to Sakura.

"Anyway, I wanted to thank you for saving my bacon back there. I owe you big time."

"This one's on us, but next time it'll cost ya."

She told him, but Manic could tell she was joking again. Sakura took a seat in the nearby chair, crossing her legs.

"So, mind telling me what exactly you were doing in Robotropolis by yourself... Manic, was it?"

"Yeah, Manic. I was there trying to escape... you see, me and my sibs were busted on a mission and I was the only one that got away without getting Roboticized. Those two robots that you got with that EMP grenade... that was my Bro ans Sis."

"Oh man, that's harsh road mate. I'm so sorry... if its of any comfort, I know how you feel. My Father was Roboticized by that sidewinder a few yars back... whole reason I became a mercenary."

"That's harsh too, Sakura. I'm really sorry..."

"Eh, don't worry about it. In the past. Gotta move on and make the future better, a'ight?"

She gave him a reassuring smile.

"By the way though, you say your name's Manic... now that wouldn't happen to mean Prince Manic of the Royal Hedgehog Family, now would it?"

"Yup, that's me. My sibs and I have been trying to find our Ma for a long time, ever since the Oracle said..."

"Oh, don't get me started on that bloke! That Oracle is full of Cactus Needles! He can't tell the future any more than you can tell me what I had for breakfast!"

Sakura was closer by now, almost in Manic's face with her anti-Oracle rant. Manic's nose twitched a bit before he covered it and said,

"Actually, it smells like you had beef jerky and cheddar cheese sticks..."

Sakura sweatdropped, backing up and clearing her throat before continuing.

"Sorry about that mate, but I think you see the point I'm gettin' at. I don't doubt the Oracle is smart and wise, but he CAN'T predict the future. I don't care what he says, we as individuals build our own future."

The blonde Hedgehog shook her head, her soft quills swaying gracefully as she did so.

"But there is one thing he's right on. The Royal Family is gonna hafta be together for us to defeat Robotnik. That's impossible if your Bro and Sis are Roboticized."

"Yeah... and there's no way to change them back. Still... that... doesn't mean I won't stop fighting."

"Doesn't mean any of us will, Manic. You're wrong on one thing though: There IS a way to change them back, just that no one's found it... yet. You listen here now Manic, we're gonna help you get your Bro and Sis back, a'ight? No matter what it takes."

"Y-you'd do that for me?"

"Resistance Members or Mercenaries, it doesn't matter mate. We're all in this fight against Robotnik together. You're our ally, and allies look out for each other."

Manic felt a smile grow across his face, despite the pain of his headache. He leaned his head back on his pillows.

"Thanks Sakura..."

"No problem, mate. Now get some rest so you can eat dinner in a while."

She smiled back to him, getting up and heading for the drapery door, quietly taking her leave so that Manic could rest.

---

A short while passed. Manic had managed to catch a quick nap, but the situation still had his nerves wracked to some extent. It hadn't taken him long to awaken again and feel the need to explore his new surroundings. He got up, grabbed his crutches and headed out the drapery door of his room.

The whole base seemed to be set inside of a cave, lights run along the ceiling and electrical wires hanging about the walls to service electricity to various parts of the base. Somewhat crudely made but purpose-fulfilling wooden furniture occupied most of the 'rooms', one room in particular containing a surprising amount of technical equipment. Manic was a bit surprised to see the like of it in such an unrefined base and so entered said room, gazing at the computers and such around him.

That's when he heard someone mutter to himself across the room, the green Hedgehog's eyes following the sound. There at a computer keyboard sat a black Hedgehog boy with quite a headful of quills that seemed to be in dire need of a comb. He wore a simple gray shirt, denim shorts and a pair of white boots, a gold chain hanging around his neck. He then took notice to the fact that Manic was in the room upon seeing his reflection in the computer screen before him. The Hedgehog turned in his rotary seat, looking to Manic with cobalt blue eyes and something of a cocky smirk. Looking him in the face, Manic could tell the guy wasn't over 14 at the most.

"You must be the prince who got busted in Robotropolis, am I right?"

The boy asked with a chuckle, leaning back in his seat leisurely and crossing one leg over the other. Manic opened his mouth to reply, but the black Hedgehog showed something of a turgid attitude as he abruptly interrupted Manic before he could speak,

"Name's Damien. RJ and I work all the technical tasks of this joint. Y'know, hacking, planning, mapping, that sort of thing."

"Uh, nice to meet you dude. I'm guessing you already know my name from Sakura, right?"

Damien leaned forward to give an answer, but was cut short as a particularly angry voice rang out,

"Damien! Get over here and help me with these *** **** boxes!"

The black Hedgehog sweatdropped, immediately getting up and rushing towards the back of the oversized room. Manic blinked, moving to follow in curiosity.

When he caught up with Damien, he found the boy helping a white Echidna with pinkish-red eyes move some particularly heavy looking boxes full of electronic hardware. The two grunted as they carried the boxes, soon setting them down on a pile with the others and heaving sighs of relief. Damien fanned himself with his hand.

"Geez RJ, do ya have to use such strong language? Its just a few heavy boxes..."

"Don't get smart with me Damien!"

The albino Echidna barked, unruly white bangs of hair swaying as he turned to point an accusing finger at his counterpart.

"All you do is sit around all day at the computers and tap your fingers around on a keyboard while I do all the HARD work!"

"Hey hey, I'm just doing my job man!"

Damien argued in something of a nonchalant manner, seemingly not intimidated by RJ's anger.

"I work the software while you work the hardware. Sounds pretty equal if you ask me."

"Equal? I'm the one who breaks his back all day lugging around and setting up all this junk!"

Manic just stood and observed as the two argued, having decided at first glance of that Echidna that he did NOT wanna get involved in their argument. RJ had a very well toned physique, muscles evident but not ungodly huge. He wore a sleeveless black shirt, blue camo pants, black and blue wristbands and a pair of plain-looking blue shoes. He was definitely different from the Echidnas Manic had seen on Angel Island. In fact, Manic was wondering why RJ was here instead of there.

The argument was heating up between the two technicians, Manic deciding he'd ease away and go explore the rest of the base. However, he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw what appeared to be a roboticizer sitting in the corner... but it looked different, like it had been modified to some extent. He swallowed hard, then looked to Damien and RJ. To risk facing their wrath for interrupting their argument to question them on the device, or to simply leave them be...

Manic decided to risk it after a few seconds of contemplation, turning to the two and speaking,

"Uh, guys? I hate to interrupt, but can I ask a quick question?"

Damien and RJ turned to him, much to Manic's relief seemingly forgetting their argument totally for the moment.

"Sure, what is it Manic?"

The albino Echidna asked, the green Hedgehog turning back to the Roboticizer.

"This... is this a... REAL Roboticizer?"

He asked, voice almost shaking. Damien walked to him, overlooking the device as well as he began to explain,

"Yup, its a real one all right. We found it in a junk pile after it'd had a malfunction and Robotnik chunked it."

RJ stepped up aside his counterpart and added,

"We repaired the malfunction and have been trying to reverse engineer it into a Deroboticizer."

"Have you had any luck?"

Manic asked hopefully. Both RJ and Damien shook their heads.

"Not really. The most we've been able to do so far is deactivate the function that deprives free will of Roboticization victims."

The Echidna told him, Manic blinking.

"So, it roboticizes without turning people into slaves?"

"That's about the size of it."

Damien replied, shrugging.

"RJ and I have been working on it for months. Hopefully, I'm getting enough data of the internal workings so that I can reverse engineer its programming soon."

"The plan is that when and if we finally get this thing working as a Deroboticizer, we go around stunning Roboticized Mobians with EMP grenades and temporarily deactivating their systems so we can bring them here and Deroboticize them."

RJ added, Manic looking hopeful as he asked,

"So then, before long... we might be able to..."

"Turn your Brother and Sister back to normal, yup."

Damien said with a confident smirk. He looked to RJ.

"We'll fix it up, right RJ?"

"If I can ever get you to do some serious work around here."

"Hey! I do my part!"

Manic couldn't help but chuckle as the two began to argue again, turning his attention away from them and towards the Roboticizer. There was hope yet.

* * *

End Chapter 2


	3. Steel Deception

"Hearts of Steel"

By

Sakura Courage Solo

Chapter 3: "Steel Deception"

* * *

Several quiet days passed after Manic had regained consciousness in the mercenary base. His leg was healing well under Vanna's medical care, the bone having already mostly knitted and the pain mostly gone due to treatments that consisted of special herbal medicines and salves the Fox had made herself from plants she'd gathered in the surrounding forest. Manic wasn't sure where Vanna had learned such things, but he made sure to pay attention so as to know these things for himself later. He felt that the best part was that none of the oral medicines she'd made tasted badly at all. If it was anything Manic hated, it was bad-tasting medicine. Who can argue with that?

Manic had by now decided to try and get some exercise by walking around the base since his leg was mostly healed now. He didn't even need the crutches at this point, and was apparently and understandably making use of this new found 'freedom'. He happened into the tech lab, where Damien and RJ were working on the Deroboticizer again. Sakura was with them, sighing as she looked over some schematics and various other papers pertinent to the project. Manic walked to her, limping slightly as he asked,

"How's the deroboticizer coming, Saku?"

The blonde Hedgehog gave an exasperated sigh, turning her aqua green eyes to the Hedgehog who had addressed her as she replied with her Australian brogue,

"Not very good, mate. According to Damien and RJ's plans, there's a lot of parts we need that we don't have on hand."

Manic's expression soured a bit at that reply. If they didn't have the parts, then how would they turn the roboticizer into a deroboticizer?

"Well, where can we get the parts then?"

He asked, hopeful that these parts might be fairly easy to get their hands on. That hope was broken though as Sakura looked back to the schematics with frustration and said,

"The only place to get most of them is Robotropolis, but I guess there's no other choice, now is there?"

She looked to the black Hedgehog and white Echidna.

"Damien, RJ, get me all the maps you can of Robotropolis in pertinence to parts factories. We're going 'shopping' once we find out what 'stores' have what we need."

The two nodded, immediately heading to the computer terminals and looking up all said maps they could. Manic grunted in exasperation.

"Just HAD to be Robotropolis, didn't it?"

He asked, Sakura actually letting out a chuckle.

"Eh, look on the bright side, mate. I get to bust up some Swatbots, eh? That's always a load of fun."

Manic managed a bit of a smile. Her confidence, though overabundant, was comforting to some exent. He then blinked as he had a thought.

"Hey Saku, we may not need to go to Robotropolis for those parts. My bud Cyrus might have them. See, the Resistance is skimming off 'Buttnik's supply ships all the time, so we get all kinds of stuff like that."

He told her, Sakura wrinkling her nose a bit as she asked,

"From the resistance? Manic, I know you're with the Resistance, but we mercenaries are separate from them and outside communication like that leaves a doorway for us to get caught."

It was true, Sakura didn't condone outside communication. Manic had asked previously if they had some way for him to contact the Resistance so he could tell them what had happened to Sonic and Sonia, but Sakura had always apologetically refused to let him do so. In a way Manic understood, but in a way he didn't. The mercenaries would have strong allies in the resistance should there be communication between the two, but there was the danger factor that Sakura was rightfully worried about. Either way, it was a double-edged sword. Manic decided to try and reason with her anyway though.

"I understand how you feel that way Saku, but... okay, how about this? On our way to Robotropolis, we fly by a smaller Resistance base and ask if they have the parts. We go in, we go out, simple as that. Besides, I need to get back to them ANYWAY..."

That was one point Sakura couldn't argue with. Manic did need to get back to his position in the Resistance, so after a moment of thought she agreed.

"All right then. Once we have the maps we need, we'll head out to that Resistance base. We'll want to have the maps in case your allies don't have the parts we need, so we can move on forward to Robotropolis."

She said, Manic giving a nod in agreement. Sakura turned, heading for the door.

"Better tell Vanna the plans. Once we have the maps, we're heading out."

* * *

By the next day, Manic was anxious to get back to the Resistance. He had to tell them what had happened to his siblings and do what he could to help the Resistance as the only sibling left of the royal family. Sakura had made him swear however that he wouldn't reveal the location of her mercenary base to a single soul, not even the most trusted member of the Resistance. Manic had agreed without hesitation.

The group was at the moment heading through the forests and towards the Resistance outpost that Manic had mapped them to. The green Hedgehog was keeping up well for his leg to be bothering him. He wanted to press forward and do what he could. Vanna looked about quietly as they walked, stopping now and again to take samples of foliage, flora and fauna to make medicines from. Sakura was getting a bit irritated having to stop so often, but Vanna was quick with the tasks of gathering plants and Sakura understood the importance of medicine.

Manic looked up at the sky as they walked, observing the position of the sun to tell the time. It looked like about 3 in the afternoon, so they should be arriving at the Resistance outpost soon. He glanced to Vanna, who was crouched at the base of a tree and uprooting some mushrooms... or at least she had been, her eyes now looking upward as her sensitive ears twitched. Sakura looked to the Fox, knowing something was wrong by her actions.

"What is it, Vanna?"

She asked, the Fox in question standing as she replied,

"I... I hear fire burning... and I think I smell smoke!"

"Where from? Can you tell?"

Damien asked in alarm, Vanna sniffing the air as her ears twitched about. She then pointed down the path they were going.

"There, that way! It may be coming from the Resistance outpost!"

She yelled, the mercenaries not hesitating to rush forward and down the path. Manic had trouble keeping up on his leg, but he managed. He could only pray that the outpost was in tact.

When they got there however, the place was in shambles. Much of it had been destroyed, more of it was smouldering from previous fire. Very little had remained undamaged or undestroyed. Manic felt his stomach drop about ten feet.

"Looks like Robotnik found this place..."

RJ snorted in something of a cynical tone, gazing at the destruction around him.

"This isn't Swatbot-done damage though..."

Damien remarked, observing some of the damage.

"Looks like roboticized Mobians. Swatbots aren't this precision or thorough."

"You're right, but what Robians could do this much damage?"

Sakura asked, Manic looking to the ground with a sigh as he said,

"I bet I know..."

Manic didn't need to say any more. Everyone knew what he meant, and that he was probably right. Sonic and Sonia had probably been the ones who were sent to destroy this outpost.

Sakura huffed at the thought, then placing a comforting hand on Manic's shoulder. He sighed, silently placing his hand over hers and squeezing it gently. The blonde Hedgehog then looked to her fellow mercenaries.

"Check around. If there are any survivors, find them. If there's anything we can use, salvage it."

She told them. They wasted no time in splitting up to do as they were told, Sakura then looking back to Manic with sympathy in her eyes.

"... you gonna be all right, mate?"

She asked in concern, though she realized how stupid the question was only after she'd said it. Of course he wasn't all right, his roboticized siblings may very well have been the ones who destroyed the now desolate outpost.

The green Hedgehog looked up at her, tears threatening to pour from his crystal blue eyes as he replied with a shakey tone,

"Y-yeah... I think so... eventually..."

He replied in a broken sentence, Sakura sighing.

"You sit here and take a rest mate, we'll take care of things here."

She told him, but Manic shook his head and stood, looking to her.

"N-no. I can't just sit around. Not anymore."

A certain determination began to rush through him, and Sakura could see it clearly in his wet eyes and now tear-stained face.

"... my Brother and Sister are MY responsibility. I have to help them... they'd do the same if it were me."

Sakura had to agree, giving a silent nod and saying,

"I know what you're feeling, Manic. When my Father was roboticized... I felt like it was my duty to see to it he got back to normal, whatever the cost. "

She sighed softly, running a frustrated hand through her blonde quills before adding.

"Crikey, I miss him... but I'm not gonna give up on him."

"Neither of us will."

Manic assured her with a determined smile, Sakura smiling back the same. She then looked into the distance, where the tip-tops of tall, grey metal buildings could be seen over the treetops. Robotropolis was about an hour or so of walking away.

"Soon as we're done here, we'll move onto Robotropolis and get the parts we need."

The blonde Hedgehog said, a smirk coming across her face.

"Maybe do some damage to some of Robotnik's toys along the way, what'cha say Manic?"

"I say we go for it."

He agreed, smirking a bit himself. The smirk soon faded though as he took another look around at the destroyed outpost. He sighed softly and thought to himself,

'... I'm so sorry everyone. I should've been able to do something... if only I could've stopped Sonic and Sonia from getting Roboticized, then maybe this wouldn't've happened...'

He looked to the ground somewhat defeatedly at these thoughts.

'But the past is the past. I can't change it now. All I CAN do now is try and make sure this doesn't happen again in the future..."

* * *

Soon enough afterward, Manic and the others found themselves in Robotropolis. The mercenary group moved stealthily throughout the city streets, taking advantage of the shadows to cover themselves visually as well as the sounds of various machinery throughout the city to cover themselves audibly. It was dusk at this time, and so things were darkening even further. Good news for their stealth.

They navigated through the dark and dirty alleyways of the city until they reached their destination: a parts manufacturing facility. They scaled the fire escape and made it to the roof, looking down into the facility through some skylight windows. Vanna reached into the pocket of her pleated skirt, pulling out a glass cutter and a suction cup. She put them to use, sticking the cup to the glass and cutting out a section big enough for them to slip through one at a time. Sakura smirked.

"Good work, Vanna. Now, is everyone ready? Do we need to go over the plan again?"

She asked, Manic stepping forward.

"Sakura, there's something I need to do personally."

He began, knowing he didn't really have a part in the mission itself anyway except for being back-up should something go wrong. He continued,

"I need to find a computer terminal and do some hacking to find out more about the attack on the outpost. I need to find out who was captured, who might have escaped, and how much Robotnik might know about the Resistance from anything he might've gathered at the outpost."

Sakura looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded.

"Permission granted Manic, but I'm going with you."

She told him, turning her aqua green eyes to RJ, Damien and Vanna.

"You three know what to do. Execute the mission and we'll meet in the forests at the temple ruins in one hour. Understand?"

The three nodded, Sakura turning back to Manic.

"Good, then move out. You follow me Manic, I know where there's a computer terminal in this facility."

She said, the green Hedgehog nodding. The five of them soon slipped in, splitting up into separate teams: RJ, Damien and Vanna were to go and steal the needed parts while Sakura and Manic hit the computer terminal. What the two Hedgehogs didn't realize however was that they were being watched.... Sakura in particular.

She and Manic didn't take long finding a computer terminal. They'd come across one conveniently unattended in a tech lab that looked mostly unused. Sakura closed the door behind them, proceeding to stand guard.

"Let's not hang around too long. Find your info and let's go."

She told him, the green Hedgehog nodding. He made his way to the terminal without hesitation, turning it on and beginning to tap away at the keyboard, cracking codes with ease whenever necessary to bring himself one step closer to the information he seeked. He trusted Sakura to cover him, and so paid no attention to his surroundings as he concentrated on the task at hand. His trust wasn't misplayed, Sakura keeping her eyes and ears open.

Quiet, tense minutes passed. Manic had by now accessed the data he wanted and was downloading it to a peripheral disc for viewing later. He didn't want to stay here any longer than he had to. Sakura felt that they had already stayed too long as it was... and her sixth sense proved it. At that moment, she could feel an adverse entity moving swiftly for them. She turned to Manic.

"Manic, get your disk and get outta here. Trouble's coming."

She said matter of factly, Manic catching the disk as it slid from the processor. The data writing had just finished. The green Hedgehog looked to Sakura, about to ask her what kind of trouble she was talking about.

He never got the chance.

Suddenly, metal was severed and glass shattered as a black streak flew through the room, Sakura tackling Manic down to the floor just in time to prevent an untimely death due to the oncoming attack.

"Run! Now!"

She ordered, getting up quickly. Manic was a bit bewildered from the sudden rush of events, but he managed to get up. He then looked across the room to see what he supposed was the culprit of the attack: a roboticized, black Hedgehog with red highlights. Sakura growled, stancing herself to fight with gun in hand. She looked to Manic out of the corner of her eye and spoke to him just under her breath,

"I told you to run. Find the others and go to the meeting place."

"But what about you?"

Manic asked, worried for Sakura since she was obviously going to attempt fighting this Robian and was quick to retort,

"Don't ask questions, just do it!"

Before Manic could agree or disagree, the roboticized Hedgehog flew forward at blinding speed, making a beeline for Sakura. She seemed to anticipate the move though, bending her knees and leaning back until she was against the floor. She aimed her gun upward, firing just as the black robot flew over her. The bullet was a direct hit, slicing into the metallic flesh and causing hot sparks to fly dangerously. Sakura barely rolled out of the way in time to avoid getting burned.

After seeing that kind of a move, Manic decided Sakura could take care of herself. He finally followed his order to run, heading out the partially destroyed door and down the hallway, hoping to find the others.

They found him actually, coming around a corner just up ahead.

"Damien! RJ! Vanna!"

Manic yelled, quickly running for them. They all came to a screeching halt when they saw him, Vanna looking to the partially destroyed door down the hallway.

"Manic, what happened? Where's Sakura?"

The blue Fox asked with worry, Manic panting a bit before replying,

"We got attacked by a roboticized Hedgehog... Sakura told me to find you guys and go to the meeting place..."

"No way, we have to help her!"

Damien argued, starting to go forward. That's when they saw Sakura get flung out of the room, her body hitting the wall with a sickening thud. Somehow she was still conscious though, raising her gun and firing at the oncoming robot. It had taken several shots, but was somehow still moving. Seemed both combatants were quite resilient.

"Sakura!"

Damien shouted as he and the others rushed to try and help her, but the mechanized Hedgehog turned to them emotionlessly and raised an armoured hand, forming it into a laser cannon effortlessly and proceeding to fire on them. The group dispersed and leapt away, barely evading the blast. It didn't stop with just one though, several more blasts coming forth and riddling the floor with holes. Each shot was a near hit, too near to be comfortable for the mercenaries.

Sakura was out of bullets at this point, holstering her gun and trying to get up. Her movements were sluggish. She was obviously hurt, but trying to overcome the pain of the injuries. She growled and started to rush the robot, but that's when the laser-riddled floor caved in.

* * *

Manic wasn't sure how long it had been since the fall when he finally awoke, but he DID know this: he would be feeling it in the morning. Really though, he was thankful that he escaped with no more injury than he did, and after regaining his bearings a bit and looking around he could see why. A huge sheet of steel had fallen over him, but was propped up just enough on some fallen, steel beams that it had missed crushing him by about six inches.

He rubbed his head and began to crawl out from under the steel sheet, hoping the others were as lucky as he was. He then froze, seeing a few Swatbots overlooking the wreckage. He backed up, hoping not to be seen as he watched and listened. One of the Swatbots looked to the other two and spoke in an electronic voice laced with a flat and emotionless tone,

"No movement or sounds detected. All intruders are deceased. Recover the bodies and take them to the lab."

Manic felt a lump form in his throat and swallowed it down nervously. Were the others really dead? What would he do if they were? Would he be able to escape this time with the luck he had last time, or would he join his siblings in Roboticization?

That's when, as the Swatbots had their backs turned, a sheet of heavy metal seemed to lift itself from the pile of debris, Manic blinking his crystal blue eyes in curiosity. He watched as the piece was turned over in strong hands for a better grip and position, allowing the green Hedgehog to see that it was RJ. The white Echidna proceeded to swing the metal sheet up and over, slamming it down atop the three Swatbots from behind, crushing them. Manic sighed with relief and crawled out of his hiding place. RJ turned to him.

"Manic, there you are! You okay?"

The white Echidna asked, Manic nodding as he replied,

"A little bruised up, but otherwise I'm okay... I'm more worried about the others."

He looked around at the debris of the caved floor as well as the room it caved in on. The room seemed to be a detention block, probably for prisoners awaiting roboticization. RJ wasn't paying attention to that though, his eyes turned upward as he smiled and said,

"Well, Vanna seems okay."

Manic blinked and looked up, seeing the blue Fox girl clinging to a bent steel beam, eyes squeezed shut. She then opened one eye, looking down at them.

"I-is it over?"

She asked with a rightfully timid stutter, RJ chuckling and nodding. Vanna sighed with some relief and jumped down gracefully, landing on her feet softly. She then looked around.

"Where are Damien and Sakura? Are they okay?"

She asked worriedly. That's when some nearby debris was pushed aside, the black Hedgehog in question standing, a bit dirty but totally unscathed.

"Present!"

He said with a big, childish grin on his face. Manic sighed with some relief, then looked around.

"That just leaves Sakura then..."

He said, more to himself than anyone. He was particularly worried about her, since she was sustaining heavy injury prior to the fall. Chances were, she hadn't survived.

"Um, excuse me..."

An innocent voice spoke from not far away, the mercenaries turning to see a silvery-white Hedgehog guy with cat-like, yellow eyes and a plume of forehead quills, the boy squeezing himself out of his cell through some bars that had been bent apart and some ultimately broken in the collapse. A thick, heavy-looking metal collar was around his neck, perhaps some sort of new tracker/punisher collar Robotnik had come up with. The Hedgehog then continued,

"This Sakura you mentioned... she wouldn't happen to be a blonde Hedgehog lady, would she?"

Everyone was quick to agree, the Hedgehog then gesturing back to his cell.

"She fell in front of my cell right after the ceiling started collapsing. The bars were bent wide enough by then so I pulled her in before the rest of the floor fell and put her in the dark corner, so the Swatbots wouldn't find her."

Manic and Vanna were the ones to make their way into the cell first, heading for the dark corner. There Sakura layed, unconscious and badly injured. Vanna checked her pulse, sighing.

"She's alive, barely. I can't do anything for her here because my medkit was damaged way too badly in the fall. We have to get her back to base immediately."

She said, voice laced with worry. Manic was quick to scoop Sakura up in his arms, being careful of her injuries. Vanna then turned to the silvery-white Hedgehog.

"Thank you for saving her. What's your name?"

She asked, the Hedgehog blinking a bit as he replied with a stutter,

"S-silver..."

"Well, you're free now Silver. Let's get out of here."

* * *

End Chapter 3


	4. Mercury Rising

"Hearts of Steel"

By

Sakura Courage Solo

Chapter 4:

"Mercury Rising"

~*~*~

The return to base was swift and fortunately uninterrupted, Sakura immediately being rushed into the infirmary. Manic, Damien and Silver now found themselves sitting just outside of said infirmary, hoping and praying for their badly injured leader as Vanna and RJ worked feverishly on her wounds. Time seemed to slow to a crawl.

None of the three who now sat in the 'waiting room' were sure of what would happen, only able to pray that whatever would happen would be relieving and pleasant. Unfortunately, with the injuries they all knew Sakura had, there was little to lead them in believing that this would be the case.

Manic looked around the room idly, noticing how Silver sat in the same manner than an obedient child would; sitting up straight with his hands folded in his lap, both feet together and on the floor as his back stood straight and in good posture. The green Hedgehog, discerning that there was nothing he or the others could do for Sakura right now anyway, decided to find out more about the prisoner they'd set free.

"So, how long had you been trapped there Silver?"

He asked, the silvery-white Hedgehog turning his amber eyes to Manic and replying matter-of-factly,

"A long time. I don't remember a whole lot before getting locked up down there... all I really remember from before I was locked up was Robotnik saying stuff about me being the last of my race and that I'd be useful. That's why he put this collar on me..."

Silver gestured to the heavy-looking metal collar that clung to his slender neck, the fur obviously worn and mostly gone from the extended time the heavy collar had spent there.

"He said it was to s-suppress my powers, whatever that means..."

"Powers?"

Damien wondered aloud, blinking in curiosity. Silver nodded and replied,

"Yeah. I think 'power' means the thing I do where I move stuff by thinking about it."

Both Manic and Damien were taken aback by not only the fact that Silver was describing his abilities as psychic, but by the fact that he was so childlike in his speech and actions as he went about it. Had he really been down in that cell that long, or had prolonged confinement simply left him a bit touched?

It was hard to say about that, but Damien seemed to have some idea on the part about the psychic powers. The black Hedgehog leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and closing his eyes in thought as he said,

"I remember reading something about that... a small race of Hedgehogs with psychic powers that kept to themselves in an isolated forest village. A few years after Robotnik came into power, the village was destroyed. Manic, I'll bet Silver was from that race of psychic Hedgehogs!"

"It'd make sense..."

Manic began, pondering Damien's point.

"The power he's supposed to have, the length of time he's been there... the only thing that doesn't really add up is why Robotnik kept him. If he keeps Silver's powers suppressed by that collar, then why would he think Silver was useful?"

"Maybe he thought he could raise Silver to do his will..."

Damien replied, looking back to Silver.

"We need to figure out a way to get that collar off of him either way. Its a wonder he doesn't have constant neck pain from that thing."

~*~*~

A few quiet days passed after that. Vanna and RJ had managed to save Sakura, but it would take her a while to heal. She had been comatose since the mission, everyone caring for her as best they could while Damien continued to try every way he knew how to remove Silver's collar without harming him, but the metal was surprisingly strong and well fitted. Getting it off without doing any damage to its wearer would be a challenge indeed. Silver had told Damien that he was by now used to the collar and that it didn't really bother him, but Damien was adamant. He was going to get that collar off if it was the last thing he did.

Manic had currently found himself in Sakura's room, changing her IV bag as Vanna had showed him previously. He had just finished inserting the new needle into Sakura's arm when she began to stir, her aqua green eyes opening just a crack. Manic smiled, gently stroking some hair from her eyes.

"Hey Sakura, how're you feeling?"

He asked, the blonde Hedgehog looking around the room quietly and wordlessly before trying to get up. Manic gently placed his hands on her shoulders, keeping her down in the bed.

"Rest Sakura, you took a pretty brutal beating. Vanna said you'd be okay, but you need to give yourself time to heal."

There was an exasperated sigh as Sakura complied defeatedly, resting back against the pillows. She looked to Manic and asked,

"How long have I been out?"

"A few days. We were starting to wonder if you'd ever wake up..."

He half joked, Sakura snorting a bit in unamusement.

"So, did we get the parts we needed?"

She asked bluntly, tone laced with displeasure. Manic sighed a bit, wishing she wouldn't be so bitter as he replied,

"Y-yeah, Damien and RJ are working on installing the parts now."

"Good. So before long, we can start Deroboticizing any Robians we come across and build up the forces against Robotnik with who we Deroboticize."

"Yeah, but its gonna take a while to install the parts. Vanna says you need to get your rest at least until then."

"Yeah yeah, I know..."

The blonde Hedgehog woman grumbled, apparently miffed. Manic wondered what he could do to make her feel better, then turning to the door as someone rapped on it.

"Come on in."

He said, the door creaking open as Silver entered, a tray of food in his hands.

"H-hey... I heard Sakura's voice, so I figured she was awake and might be hungy..."

Silver said with a humble tone, setting the tray down as he added,

"Vanna just finished making lunch for everyone, so its good and hot. She made some mashed potatoes and cheeseburgers..."

He trailed off, becoming uncomfortable as he realized Sakura was staring at him intently. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face.

"Um, i-is something wrong... Sakura?"

He stammered, the Hedgehog woman in question never taking her aqua green eyes off of him as she spoke to Manic,

"Manic, who is he?"

"His name's Silver, and he's the reason you're still alive Sakura. He pulled you to safety while the floor was caving in."

"Really now?"

"Yeah. He was a prisoner of Robotnik's in the detention blocks a floor down from where you were fighting that 'bot. Damien's still trying to figure out how to get that collar off of him."

"You idiots!"

Sakura suddenly yelled, expressing a good amount of pain through a groan as she rose from the bed, going to Silver and taking hold of the collar to get a better look at it. Silver yelped, struggling a bit.

"Sakura, what's gotten into you?!"

Manic exclaimed, trying to pull Sakura away from Silver.

"What the heck has Vanna got you on?! You're acting nuts all of a sudden!"

"Am I?"

Sakura questioned with a growl, pointing to the collar around Silver's neck.

"That thing is a freaking tracking collar! It'll lead Robotnik right to us!"

Both Manic and Silver's eyes widened. Was Silver's suppression collar really a tracker? If so, then chances were that Robotnik had an excellent lock on the mercenary base by now.

~*~*~

It wasn't long before Damien and RJ were scanning the collar for tracking devices. They actually found a couple in the collar, possibly where Robotnik had thought ahead to have back-up tracking in case one signal went out. Sakura growled in frustration at the situation and at her wounds, staring indignantly at the wall. Silver looked to her with apologetic, amber yellow eyes as he said,

"Sakura, I... I'm really sorry... I didn't know... if I had, I wouldn't've..."

"I'm not mad at you Silver. Don't apologize."

Sakura replied, the anger in her voice evident, but was fortunately for Silver directed at other sources. Vanna looked concerned, turning her ruby chocolate eyes to the blonde Hedgehog woman as she asked,

"Guess we should get started moving out since Robotnik knows we're here, right?"

"No."

Sakura replied, turning to her group with determination in her aqua green eyes.

"We're not running. This is OUR base. We're gonna show Robotnik who's boss here. This is OUR turf, and we're going to fight to protect it."

"But Sakura..."

Damien began, his tone dripping with worry,

"Robotnik's forces are way too powerful. He not only has Shadow roboticized, but now he has Sonic and Sonia to fight us with!"

Manic blinked, wondering who this 'Shadow' was... perhaps a former mercenary who had been roboticized? Maybe he'd been the robot Sakura was fighting with back in Robotropolis. He was broken from these thoughts however as Sakura replied to Damien,

"He's also attacking us on our own ground and we have the advantage of knowing he's coming so that we can prepare. I want you and RJ to get all our heaviest artillery prepared, ready and set to be fired at any time. Vanna, you make sure all the security systems are fully armed and ready. Silver..."

She turned to the Hedgehog in question.

"You ever handled a gun or weapon of any kind before?"

Silver shook his head slowly, Sakura sighing.

"Well, this'll be your first time. We're gonna need all the man-power and fire-power we've got. I'll get you a laser rifle from the weapon room shortly. All you do is make sure the safety is off, aim and shoot. Not really hard."

She then looked to Manic.

"Manic, you're with me. We're on lookout. Now everyone, you have your assignments. Move!"

~*~*~

Sakura was silent some time later as she and Manic sat at the hidden cavern entrance to the base, the two of them watching the outside area carefully through the thick foliage and vines that covered the cavern mouth. Things were far too quiet for the liking of either of them, and the length of this silence had only added to their disdain for it. Finally, Manic leaned back against the cavern wall, continuing to watch out the entrance as he decided to break the silence.

"So, Sakura... just out of curiosity, who was that Shadow guy that Damien mentioned earlier?"

Sakura blinked her aqua green eyes, a little surprised at the question as she turned to Manic.

"Was he by any chance that robot you were fighting when the floor caved?"

He asked, Sakura sighing a bit and turning her eyes to the ground. Manic's ears drooped a bit as he felt he'd hit on a touchy subject. He was about to apologize for his mistake when Sakura spoke,

"He was my Father..."

"Wh-what?"

Manic stammered, her answer having caught him flat footed. The blonde Hedgehog nodded in reply, eyes still on the ground as she continued,

"He was all I had... the only family I ever knew... my Mother died just a few moments after I was born, so my Father was left to raise me..."

"... and so you became a mercenary to try and avenge him when he was taken from you..."

Manic guessed aloud, figuring that the event had been what drove her to become the mercenary that she now was. The blonde looked up to him, her eyes glistening a little with tears that were threatening to pour out as she replied,

"Maybe that's part of it, but... I'm mostly doing it because my Father would expect no less of me than my best in doing the right thing. You see, my Father was actually a high-ranking soldier in Queen Aleena's army. He was very strong and skilled in battle, and felt very passionately about freedom and justice. He began teaching me early on how to take care of myself: how to fight, how to survive in extreme conditions, how to use weapons, the whole works. He wanted me to be able to defend myself and my freedom should the need come... "

"And you feel like your Dad would want you to use the skills you have to bring back the freedom and justice he loved so much."

Manic said, Sakura nodding and leaning back with a sigh as she replied,

"He'd expect no less. I have to do what I can to bring freedom and justice back to this planet. I remember... when I was young, my father once told me 'A strong man stands up for himself. A stronger man stands up for others'."

Manic was quiet for a moment, trying to comprehend how Sakura must feel amongst all of this. After a few seconds of silent thought however, he simply smiled to her and said,

"You know something Sakura? I think your Dad would be real proud of you right now."

"You think so?"

She asked, something of a childish hope lacing her voice. The green Hedgehog nodded.

"I know so, Sakura. You've worked so hard to do what he'd want you to... even though it must've been hard..."

"It was hard... really hard. After Robotnik started taking over and my Dad was Roboticized, all I could do for days was run and try to survive in the forests... surviving wasn't hard after all the training my Father had given me, but surviving wasn't enough for me. I had to do something with my survival."

She turned her gaze back out through the thick vines that camouflaged the cavern entrance.

"I didn't know about the resistance. I was young and naive, so I felt like I had to do what I had to do all on my own anyway. I started sneaking into Robotropolis to steal weapons and parts that I could later use against Robotnik. That lasted for a couple of years until I ended up bumping into Damien and RJ just outside of Robotropolis one day after I'd been on another weapon raid. They told me they had left the resistance because they were tired of their allies getting roboticized because of the surgical war tactics the resistance kept trying to use. They didn't wanna be next, and quite frankly I don't blame them. We ended up teaming together as mercenaries: getting rid of Robotnik, doing it how we saw fit AND making some cash at it."

"So that's how you ended up where you are..."

Manic said, intrigued by her story. He then blinked as a thought hit him,

"But wait, that tells me how you, RJ and Damien got together, but how'd Vanna end up with this bunch? No offense, but she doesn't SEEM like the mercenary-type..."

"Well, the guys and I were doing some bomb work in Robotropolis about six months ago. Y'know, setting remote detonators? Well, while we were sneaking through the air ducts, we happened to see Vanna getting dragged down the hall and toward the Roboticization Room. We took a chance and attacked, managing to rescue her. Turned out Robotnik was after her because her Father was working for the Reistance and had begun development of a Deroboticizer. Robotnik had captured him and tried to get the information out of him about how the Deroboticizer worked so that he might find a way to immunize his robots from it. Vanna's Dad wouldn't talk and so he ended up Roboticized. Vanna had been on her way to have the same done to her, and would have if we hadn't saved her."

"Is that by any chance how Damien and RJ have come as far as they have with their Deroboticizer?"

"Yes. Vanna gave them what information she knew of her Father's Deroboticizer, and they've been building on it since."

Sakura sighed and closed her eyes. Manic could tell that her injuries were still bothering her, but he knew there was no way he could talk her into going back to rest now. He reached forward and gently patted her shoulder in a gesture of reassurance, Sakura smiling for the first time since waking up.

"I just hope the Deroboticizer works..."

She said, Manic smiling back to her as he replied confidently,

"It will. It may take some more work, but it will. Your Dad will be back some day Sakura, just like my Sibs. I promise..."

"Thanks Manic..."

Her smile grew a bit wider... but then vanished, her sensitive ears perking as they caught the sound of metallic footsteps in the woods.

The hour of battle was near.

~*~*~

End Chapter 4


	5. Metallic Nightmare

"Hearts of Steel"

By

Sakura Courage Solo

~*~*~

Chapter 5

"Metallic Nightmare"

~*~*~

Sakura and Manic sank back into the recess of the cavern a bit, weapons at the ready as the metallic footsteps outside came closer. Sakura could feel a bead of tense sweat trickle down the side of her face as she stood there, prepared to fire at anything that might come through the moss and vines camouflaging the entrance.

She never got a chance.

Before she and Manic knew what was going on, streaks of metallic blue and pink streaked by them at blinding speeds. They were knocked down before they even had time to think, the speeding entities moving right into the base.

Sakura and Manic laid stunned for a few seconds, having to take time for everything to register in their confused minds. Once that happened though, they scrambled to their feet.

"That was Sonic and Sonia!"

Manic exclaimed, Sakura huffing in frustration before replying,

"That just figures into the equation. 'Buttnik sends your roboticized siblings in to deal with us. Come on, we gotta stop 'em before they wreck the whole base!"

With that, she darted down the cavern corridor and into the base, Manic hot on her heels. It only took them seconds to reach the entry room, whereas the roboticized brother and sister were already tearing the place to shreds. Sakura gave an angry growl and raised her gun, preparing to open fire.

"Eat lead, you bloody metal freaks!"

She yelled, pulling the trigger as she fired a shot at Sonic. The metallic blue Hedgehog's sensitive electronic ears picked up on the sound of the gun being fired, his body twisting and making a blindingly quick dash out of the projectile's destructive path. More bullets were fired, but they were evaded even more easily than the first now that the roboticized Sonic was expecting them. He was almost on Sakura with a spin dash before Manic tackled her out of the way, the brother having known ahead of time what kind of moves Sonic was most likely to make in battle, whether he be organic or robot.

Sakura grunted as she was tackled out of the path of Sonic's spin dash but was quick to recover as she rolled to her feet, leaping to one side just in time to avoid another speedy attack before opening fire again. Needless to say, her bullets weren't doing ANY good. The most she and Manic could do was fire and dodge. If this kept up, the two were only going to get themselves killed.

However, help was just around the corner... literally, as Damien peered around the crudely carved stone edges of the doorway and onto the battle scene. It was blatantly obvious that Sakura and Manic were losing fast.

"Hope this helps..."

The black Hedgehog boy murmured to himself, reaching into the pocket of his shorts and producing a couple of electronic, ball shaped grenades from it. He said a prayer in hoping they'd work before hitting the buttons and chucking them at Sonic and Sonia.

Sonic was the first to react, reaching his metallic hand out and grabbing the EMP grenade with an iron fisted force that crushed the grenade before it could detonate. Sonia caught sight of the oncoming weapon and crossed her arms, open circuits on them sparking just before a pink force field was formed, the EMP grenade ricocheting off of it and to a safe distance away before going off about a second later. Damien gulped, the two robots turning their sights on him.

"Uh-oh..."

Was all that had time to escape his lips before he turned on his heels and darted down a narrow corridor, the metallic siblings blazing after him in-hesitantly. Sakura growled.

"Crazy kid... ! He was supposed to be helping RJ get the bloody heavy artillery ready!"

She yelled in frustration, motioning for Manic to follow as she went in pursuit of the chase.

However, Damien wasn't as crazy as Sakura had thought. The Black Hedgehog had done the job that Sakura had given him in helping get the big guns ready and now he was on a new job: live bait. He made sure to stay in the more narrow corridors so that Sonic and Sonia would have to slow down in order to properly navigate without crashing, leaving Damien with enough speed to stay ahead of them. He panted heavily as he rounded a sharp corner, dashing into a fairly large artificial cavern that the mercenaries used as their combat training room. RJ sat on a ledge near the ceiling, a particularly heavy blaster cannon mounted on his shoulder as he watched his counterpart move through the room. A devious smirk came across the white Echidna's face as he took aim at the entrance and waited for just the right moment...

That's when the robiticized siblings made their appearance, RJ letting out a battle cry that had been passed down through his family since tribal days as he opened fire. A broad beam of blinding white light shot from the cannon and made a direct hit on the two, pummeling them into the wall. RJ laughed triumphantly and stood, looking down from his perch on the ledge and admiring his work.

"That'll teach ya to mess with us!"

He gloated at the motionless robots, feeling he'd won. That was hardly the case however, the metallic Sonic suddenly making a twitch. RJ's feeling of triumph immediately ceased as he saw this, his hands immediately going back to operate the cannon...

... too late.

Before he could fire the weapon again, a blue streak flew straight at him and cold, metal hands wrapped around his throat as he was pinned to the stone wall behind him. He struggled futilely as he was slammed against the hard surface, the wind getting knocked out of him despite the tight metal grip on his airway. Had it not been for all his muscles resisting the impact, it would've killed him.

"RJ!"

Sakura yelled as she and Manic entered the training room, seeing the choke hold the metallic blue Hedgehog was putting on the white Echidna. The blonde Hedgehog raised her gun to open fire again, but Manic quickly grabbed her arms and pulled the gun from aim. Sakura growled in frustration.

"Manic, what the bloody heck are you doing?!"

"You can't just open fire here, Sakura! You might hit RJ!"

"Your brother's gonna kill RJ anyway if one of us doesn't do something!"

"Yeah, but... !"

Before Manic could complete his sentence, he and Sakura were grabbed from behind by Sonia as her powerful metal arms wrapped around them, pinning their arms to their sides.

"Wh-whoa! Sonia, c'mon, let go!"

Manic yelled as he struggled, even though his please wouldn't do any good. Regardless of the fact that she was a metal being, he still felt her to be his sister and that perhaps she might listen.

"Sonia, come on! Its me, Manic! Please Sis, listen to me!"

"She can't hear you, Manic! And even if she can, there's nothing she can do about it! All that's working on her is the metal parts right now!"

Sakura told him as she also struggled, her anger rising as she began to scream some choice words at Sonia. Damien could only watch all of this, wondering what to do.

That's when RJ finally came to his senses enough after the slam to gather his strength, putting it to use as he pulled both legs up and kicked Sonic off hard. The metallic Hedgehog fell from the ledge, only regaining his composure just before hitting the floor and turning on his booster. He just barely saved himself from smashing into the ground and started to go back after the white Echidna... only to be pounced by him as he leapt from the ledge above, fists out and slamming against Sonic's metallic body. The screech of metal could be heard all throughout the training room as RJ continued to pummel the roboticized Hedgehog, soon slamming him into his metallic sister and forcing her to release Sakura and Manic.

The two Hedgehogs rolled across the floor after Sonia had dropped them, but soon got to their feet as RJ went after Sonic and Sonia. The two roboticized Hedgehogs were ready now though, Sonic evading one of the white Echidna;s punches and slamming his cold metal fist into his fleshy face. Sonia followed up, back on her feet now as she swiftly kicked RJ right in the chest, sending him flying. The Echidna was slammed into the stone walls of the room again, but was this time knocked unconscious. Damien immediately ran to him, trying to get him to wake up. Sonic and Sonia were closing in on them.

"Leave 'em alone, you bloody freaks!"

Sakura yelled, picking up her gun from the floor where she'd dropped it when Sonia grabbed them, proceeding to open fire. Again, the bullets did nothing to the roboticized siblings, who simply turned to Sakura and Manic with an icy, emotionless glare that only a robot can give. Sonic finally spoke in his electronically toned version of his organic voice,

"The white Echidna and the black Hedgehog boy are of no threat now."

Sonia nodded in agreement and added as she eyed Sakura and Manic,

"These two are priority now."

A bead of sweat rolled down the back of Manic's head as he heard those words, the two robots beginning to stride leisurely toward them. He turned his crystal blue eyes to the Hedgehog next to him.

"Sakura? Y-you got a back-up plan?"

"Yes... run."

With that Sakura turned on her heels and fled, Manic inhesitant to go after her. He at first wondered if she'd run in fear, but then took note as he ran alongside her of her serious and unfearful expression. She had some sort of plan other than just running. He hadn't known Sakura for long, but he could tell when the gears were turning in her head.

They ran through narrow hallways and corridors as Damien had earlier in order to keep Sonic and Sonia slowed down, giving them time to get where they were headed: the tech lab. Manic panted heavily as they entered said lab, Sakura slamming her fist into a button on the wall, a thick, steel door slamming down behind them just in time to keep the roboticized siblings from getting to the two Hedgehogs. The mercenary growled and said,

"That'll only hold them so long..."

"Where're Vanna and Silver?"

Manic asked, worried that Sonic and Sonia may go after them. Sakura walked to a steel, code-locked container as she replied,

"Vanna's probably up in security and waiting to see if she'll have to go to the extreme measure of self-destructing this place to stop those two."

"S-self destruct?!"

Manic asked with shock in his voice, as if his roboticized siblings hadn't already put enough of it there to begin with. The blonde Hedgehog gave a matter-of-fact nod as she added,

"Silver's probably with her. I know I gave him a gun and all, but I never really expected him to fight. I just handed it to him on the off chance he might be able to defend himself if things went south."

She quickly tapped a long and complicated code into the container's code box, the lid popping open automatically to reveal a cache of various experimental weapons. Sakura grabbed a shoulder mounted cannon of some sort, pulling it onto her shoulder and aiming it at the door.

"Hope this works... these weapons are powerful, but only experimental..."

She muttered, Manic getting behind her to avoid any force that the incomplete weapon might put out. The steel door before them was getting dented and damaged as the two enemies on the other side hit it continuously with all the force they had. The hinges were starting to groan and creak as they weakened under the intense pressure. Sakura took aim, ready to fire as soon as the door came down.

That's when things got quiet however, Sakura blinking her aqua green eyes in surprise.

"... wh-why'd they stop... ?"

Manic stammered. Sakura didn't have time to answer, the door suddenly getting blown off its hinges and slamming into her with the force of a freight train. Manic being behind her by a few feet, he had just enough time to jump out of the way as the impact on Sakura slowed the door's flight. There was a metallic clang as the steel door hit the floor, all going silent.

"Sakura!"

Manic yelled, running to the mercenary girl. She was trapped under the remains of the steel door from the waist down, barely conscious as she looked up to him with pain filled eyes. The green Hedgehog quickly went to her and tried to move the door off of her, but it was far too heavy for him and refused to budge. He growled in frustration and knelt down next to her.

"Sakura, hold on..."

He whispered, gently stroking her cheek. She tried to speak, but the only sounds that came out were choked sobs of pain. Manic then noticed blood flowing out from under the steel death trap that lay atop her, and quite a bit of it. If she didn't get help soon, she would bleed to death.

That's when Manic heard it: the metallic clanking of two robots' footsteps. He turned, seeing Sonic and Sonia standing there, looking over him. Sonia was the first to speak with an emotionless, electronic voice,

"Resistance is futile, Manic. You will be coming with us now."

"Master Robotnik has been waiting for you. Soon you will be a perfect minion as we are."

Sonic added, the green Hedgehog staying at Sakura's side as he glared at them and said coldly,

"No... I'll never fall to him... I'll die first."

"That is not an option. Our orders are to bring you back to Robotropolis alive."

Sonic said, walking leisurely toward his flesh and blood brother. Manic looked around frantically, not wanting to leave Sakura's side but at the same time not wanting to get captured either as he tried to figure out what to do.

"I could call out my drum kit and give 'em a beatdown... "

He thought, then looking back to Sakura. She had slipped into unconsciousness, her breathing weak.

"... but we're underground. If I started a quake down here, then we'd ALL end up dead..."

He'd have to figure out something else, his crystal blue eyes darting about wildly. That's when he saw the Roboticizer that RJ and Damien had been trying to reverse engineer into a Deroboticizer. He realized it was his only shot.

He leapt up from his kneeling position, barely avoiding getting grabbed by the Roboticized Sonic as he made a beeline for the Roboticizer. He quickly leapt onto the platform, hitting the activation button. The desperate move he was making wasn't computing well with Sonic and Sonia's electronic brains, and thus they weren't sure what to do as the glass tube came down over Manic and bright light began to envelop his body.

He let out a scream as he felt his skin begin to harden and tighten into hard metal, his insides becoming cold as he felt his blood vessels become replaced by oil lines, his bones and muscles turning into metal rods and motors. The process was extremely painful, both mentally and physically. He fell to his knees, letting out another scream.

Finally, the bright light around him faded. He felt his now metallic body calm itself, it being a bit of a surprise to him that he wasn't breathing heavily after the experience until he remembered that he was now a robot.

He was now a robot... the thought only now truly dawned on him... but the next thought that dawned on him was that he THOUGHT that thought freely. He still had his free will, just as Damien and RJ had said he would. Had he not had a metal face, a smirk would have tugged across his lips as he stood, his siblings looking on in silent wonder.

"Now the playing field is even..."

He said in an electronic version of his previous voice, but lacking the coldness and emotionlessness of that of his siblings. He stepped calmly off the roboticizer platform. Unlike his Sonic and Sonia, Manic looked much like his old self after his Roboticization; if one can imagine it, he looked as if he'd simply been given a metallic coating and his joints had been made visible. As opposed to this, his siblings had looked very twistedly different after their roboticization, taking on a dark and sinister look in their metallic forms.

"Bro, Sis... I know you two are in there somewhere. I'm giving you one chance to stop this."

Manic told them, Sonic taking a defiant step forward as he replied,

"Our orders are clear, Brother. You are to come with us."

"This could prove to be better either way. If Master Robotnik studies you, there is a possibility he may find a way to prevent deroboticization in his robots since you have been roboticized with what is apparently a partially reverse engineered Roboticizer."

Sonia added, looking ready to fight. Manic sighed.

"Okay Bro, Sis... Sorry I have to do this then."

With that, Manic quickly rushed at them with the new jet boosters he seemed to automatically know were in his now metallic shoes. Sonic, while still holding his speed after Roboticization, easily maneuvered away from the attack and evaded. Sonia however was hit hard, slammed into the rocky walls of the cavern base. The female robot slid to the floor, her electronic brain temporarily scrambled from the impact. Manic decided that now would be a good time to try and harmlessly deactivate her so that she might be Deroboticized later.

Bad mistake. Sonic took quick advantage of Manic's attention being diverted to Sonia as he rushed Manic from behind, slamming him hard and pinning him against the wall. The metallic green Hedgehog grunted as he met the rock full force, but had managed to brace for impact before making contact. He was quick to put up both feet and activate his boosters, blasting Sonic off of himself. The blue robot flew back, but managed to regain his composure as he planted his metallic feet against the floor, causing sparks to fly until he screeched to a halt.

Sonic gave a cold, metallic glare to his free-willed Brother. Manic hovered just above on the jets, looking down on his sibling as he yelled,

"I know you're in there somewhere, Bro! You gotta stop this! I don't wanna hurt you!"

"Too bad!"

The metallic blue Hedgehog raised his arms, red laser beams firing from the metal barrels that were mounted on his wrist armours. Manic had to weave back and forth in mid-air just to keep from getting hit directly, taking a few grazes now and then.

"Sonic, stop! You're liable to cause a cave in firing those lasers in here!"

Manic yelled, but his Brother didn't seem to care.

"Then so be it!"

Sonic's angry, metallic voice boomed as he continued to fire. Sure enough, everything rumbled for a moment just before huge rocks began to fall from the ceiling. Manic muttered some choice words as he flew forward to try and avoid the falling stones, but that was about the time Sonia 'regained conciousness' so to speak and leapt up, tackling him down hard to the floor. Once she had him pinned, she pulld her cold, metal fingers into a fist and began to repeatedly punch Manic in the face. Sonic rushed over as his sister did this, the two completely oblivious to the rocks raining around them as their sights were set completely on the goal of doing what their 'master' had ordered.

"Do you see now, Brother? You cannot win. We are superior as we serve Master Robotnik. You will be superior as well. Do you surrender?"

The blue Hedgehog stated matter-of-factly, Manic letting out a growl before reaching up like lightning and grabbing his sister's fist just as she was bringing another punch down.

"Never..."

He replied coldly, only now truly realizing just how deep into their loyalty his siblings had fallen when they'd been turned into robots. Without hesitation, he put his new found robotic strength to use as he literally crushed down on Sonia's hand before throwing her into Sonic, sending the two flying across the room. He was quick to get up now that he'd thrown Sonia off, flying after them as he prepared for another attack. As he flew, he turned off his boosters and twisted his body in mid air so that his feet faced forward, using the momentum he'd gained from his boosters before to deliver a hard drop kick to the two robots before him. They hit the ground and slid, sparks flying from their metallic armored bodies. Manic landed gracefully and began walking toward them leisurely.

"I gave you two a chance and you blew it. If you'd just listened, I wouldn't've had to hurt you like that..."

He looked down at them, trickles of oil beginning to run from his metallic eyes.

"You've got no idea how much that hurt me to do that to you, sibs... but... maybe you will soon enough."

With that, Manic reached forward and gently pulled out a red wire on the backs of their necks, breaching the main power circuit and sending them into a temporary shutdown.

"I'm sorry..."

He whispered, shaking his head a bit. He then turned to Sakura, who was still unconscious and bleeding beneath the steel door. Fortunately, she had been missed by the falling rocks and wasn't harmed further. Manic was quick to use his new robotic strength to get the steel door off of her. The sight beneath was far from pretty however, lacerations and gashes covering her lower body. He sighed as he gently picked her up.

"Come on Saku, let's get you to Vanna..."

~*~*~

End Chapter 5


	6. Golden Victory

"Hearts of Steel"

By

Sakura Courage Solo

~*~*~

Chapter 6

"Golden Victory"

~*~*~

Hours passed as Vanna worked feverishly on Sakura in the base's 'operation room', everyone else sitting quietly in the hallway as they awaited any word on their leader's condition. Silver swallowed hard and looked to the others in an apologetic manner.

"I'm sorry... I...I should've been out there helping you guys, then maybe Sakura wouldn't be in this condition..."

"Its not your fault, so don't blame yourself, Silver."

RJ told him, arms crossed as he looked to the curtain that served as the 'door' to the infirmary. Damien nodded in agreement with his white echidna of a counterpart as he added,

"Sakura didn't really expect you to fight. You're not trained for it. She only gave you a gun so you could defend yourself if you had to."

"I guess you're right..."

Silver replied, sighing in a downhearted manner.

"I still feel badly though..."

Manic reached over and gently patted Silver's shoulder in an attempt to reassure him. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped short as Vanna stepped through the curtain. Everyone looked to her with intense expressions of inquisition. The blue Fox woman sighed softly as she answered their silent question,

"There was major blood loss, several broken bones, severe internal injuries... I'm afraid she probably won't last the night."

The silence seemingly grew louder in the room as a certain, deep shock fell on everyone. Vanna swallowed hard and looked down at the floor as she continued,

"All we can do now is try to make her comfortable..."

Manic felt the lump that was already in his throat grow larger. He didn't want to believe what Vanna had said, wishing she was wrong and that again, Sakura would come out of this situation just fine. Unfortunately, Manic knew in his heart that wasn't going to happen. Unless something drastic happened, Sakura was going to die in a matter of hours, quite possibly less. The green Hedgehog looked to Vanna solemnly.

"Can I see her?"

He asked in a shock shaken voice, the blue Fox nodding slowly before adding,

"Yes, but she's not conscious... and unfortunately will probably remain that way..."

Manic nodded back in understanding, slowly standing and entering the room where Sakura's broken body was lain up in the bed, several IVs in her arm feeding her pain killers and various other medications to keep her comfortable in her final hours. Manic swallowed hard as he walked to her gently taking her hand. He could already tell by that touch she'd lost a lot of body heat. He leaned forward and gently whispered in her ear,

"I'm sorry Sakura... I tried, I really did, but I wasn't able to help you..."

Black oil began to streak down Manic's face again as he gently strokes her soft, blonde bangs away from her eyes.

"A-and... I wanna say thank you for... for helping me get my Brother and Sister back, Sakura... Damien and RJ say that since they have the parts now, they can finish work on the Deroboticizer and..."

That's when a sudden thought hit Manic; The Roboticizer! Damien and RJ hadn't finished converting it yet! He could do to Sakura what he'd done to himself and Roboticize her! If he did that, it would be as if her wounds never happened!

"The Roboticizer... that's it! Sakura, you just hang in there! I've gotta go talk to Vanna!"

~*~*~

"Are you guys sure this will work... ?"

Silver asked apprehensively as RJ and Vanna carefully strapped Sakura onto an examination table, tilting it upwards so that she was almost in a standing position but held in place by the straps. Damien checked over the power channels and such to ensure that the Roboticizer would work properly before turning to Silver and replying,

"It has to, its her only chance."

"But after she's robiticized, will she have the same damage on her robot body?"

Silver continued to question, RJ making reply this time as he stated,

"One of two things will happen, the first being after Sakura's roboticized, she'll still have the damage. In the which case, We can repair said damage without killing her. The second is that she won't have any of the damage after roboticization, but if we deroboticized her the wounds and injuries would return since that's the way the Roboticizer recognized her when she went in, and thus would rebuild her when she went out."

The white Hedgehog nodded quietly as he listened, Vanna and RJ stepping off the platform after Sakura was secured.

"Everything looking okay, Damien?"

Vanna asked as she and RJ went to the control panel, the black Hedgehog giving a thumbs up that his once over of all the systems had come up all right. The blue Fox gave a nod of affirmation, the white Echidna nodding back silently before pulling the lever. The glass cylinder descended over Sakura with a low hiss as compressed air pushed the glass along. Manic stood next to Damien and Silver, watching and praying silently.

The cylinder soon began to fill with light, everyone shielding their eyes as the process began. RJ pulled down a pair of darkened goggles and watched the monitors carefully, sighing with a bit of relief as it seemed the process was going smoothly. After a while, the light faded and the glass lifted, Manic the first to open his crystal blue eyes and move toward the blonde Hedgehog woman.

"Sakura... ?"

He whispered as he looked on her now metallic form. Like himself, she had roboticized to look little different from how she had looked before the process, minus her injuries of course, which were now completely gone. Manic heaved a sigh of relief, the now roboticized Sakura slowly opening her metallic eyes.

"Manic... ?"

She asked in slight bewilderment as she sat up, looking surprised that she was in no pain as she did so. She looked around a bit, as if to clear her head for a moment before asking, her electronic eyes finally resting on him and widening.

"Manic, what... how... ?"

"Calm down Sakura. Let me explain..."

The green Hedgehog began as he gently laid a hand on her shoulder. He proceeded to tell her everything that had happened from her mortal injury to her roboticization. The blonde Hedgehog looked dazed.

"Sakura... I know you probably didn't wanna get roboticized, and that you never had any say in the matter... but..."

Manic sighed and continued.

"We wanted to ask you first, but couldn't... and if we didn't do this, you woulda died..."

"Crikey..."

Was he single word of response that escaped Sakura's electronic voice box. She was silent a moment longer before adding,

"Bloody crikey... I owe you guys so bad..."

"You're not mad then?"

Vanna asked, looking hopeful. The fox girl had been timid the whole time that Sakura would be upset about them doing this without getting permission first, but looked relieved that their leader wasn't disgruntled as said blonde Hedgehog replied,

"Hardly. You saved my life, guys."

"Glad we could do it Saku. We're just glad you're still here."

RJ told her, one of his rare smiles coming across his usually serious face. She would have smiled back had her face not been made of metal. She then looked across the room, where the deactivated Sonic and Sonia were by now propped up in secure containment chambers. She turned her electronic eyes back to Damien and RJ.

"When will the Deroboticizer be up and running? We need to get Manic's Bro and Sis back to normal."

She asked, Damien quick to reply in his usual, cheerful tone,

"If all goes well, RJ and I can have it up and running within two more days!"

"And I've taken the liberty of making sure it DOES go well, with no interruptions."

RJ added, pointing to Sonic and Sonia as he continued,

"Did a bit of hacking earlier in them AND Silver's collar and found the communication channel Robotnik was using for them. I traced it and erased all tracking communications, so now Robotnik has lost all data pertaining to our whereabouts."

"Good job, RJ. I can always count on you... all of you."

Sakura said with a tone of gratitude, standing up fully and testing her new, bionic limbs a bit as she flexed her arms and legs. She then turned to Manic.

"I say we put these new bodies to use until the Deroboticizer is finished. What say you, mate?"

Though his face was metal, everyone could tell Manic was giving a cocky smirk in his mind as he replied casually,

"What did you have in mind?"

~*~*~

It was sometime later that Manic and Sakura found themselves prowling the streets of Robotropolis, which was much easier now that they were Roboticized since they could now manipulate security and other checkpoints since their electronic minds were synced with Robotropolis' electronics. It was part of the Roboticization process that the new minion be equipped with all required knowledge of the new field he or she would be working in. They soon entered a high security area, several Roboticizers lining the walls of the room. Manic looked to Sakura quietly.

"So, what's your plan exactly? You kinda haven't told me yet..."

He whispered in a hushed, metallic tone. The blonde Hedgehog turned her electronic eyes to him and replied,

"Plan is to destroy as many of those Roboticizers as possible. But first, we're gonna hack Robotnik's mainframe and find the plans for the Roboticizer. After we delete all the plans..."

"Then Robotnik won't be able to make more Roboticizers after we destroy these."

Manic finished, Sakura nodding in confirmation. They glanced to the left, where a tall staircase led to a single door with a darkened window. Definitely a control room.

Sakura and Manic casually walked up that way, not being noticed at all as they blended in perfectly with all the other roboticized mobians that were walking around. They made it to the control room door easily, Manic cracking the number code and opening said door. Once inside, they came to a Swatbot that was sitting at the control panel. It quickly rose from its seat and turned to them.

"You are not authorized to be here. State your purpose, worker bots."

The Swatbot commanded in its synthetic voice. Sakura simply smirked and cracked her steel knuckles, slamming her fist into the Swatbot with a right hook before it could summon any form of security. Manic chuckled, walking to the control panel and seating himself. He crossed his legs nonchalantly as he commented,

"Nice punch Saku. Now to chunk some bad data."

With that, the green Hedgehog leaned forward and began tapping away at the controls, soon entering the files menu. He began searching for the files on the Roboticizer. Sakura walked to the door and stood guard, keeping a look out through the small, darkened glass window.

"Try to be quick Manic. Security tight around here, so even with that bloody 'bot out of commission, we could still get busted."

"I've almost got it..."

He reassured her, the file directory for the Roboticizer plans showing up no sooner than the words had escaped his mouth. Unfortunately, each file was triple code would take him forever to decode the security on each file manually in order to delete it. Even with a metallic face, Sakura could see his countenance fall as he turned to look at her.

"There's like 50 files on the plans, and they're all triple code locked."

He explained, Sakura giving another apprehensive glance out the window before turning back to him.

"Can you hook yourself into the system? You might have all those codes in your head since you were Roboticized..."

"Good thinking!"

Manic agreed, feeling around the back of his robotic head. His fingers soon ran across an access panel, which he was quick to open. Sakura walked over and helped him get hooked into the mainframe. Before he knew it, Manic was hacking into the files directly from his mind effortlessly, deleting file after file in mere seconds. Sakura chuckled as she watched the actions flash past on the screen.

"Perfect job, mate. Keep going."

She said, moving back to the door to continue standing lookout. She took another staple glance out the darkened window, the lights brightening in her electronic eyes as she saw someone coming. She braced the door quickly.

"Manic, hurry up!"

She ushered, the green Hedgehog blinking and turning to her.

"Why, what's wrong?"

He asked, having just finished the deletion of the files as he pulled the USB cables from his access port. Sakura didn't have time to answer before loud banging was heard on the other side of the door. Manic understood immediately and started to go to her, but it was futile. The door was blasted off its hinges at that moment, sending Sakura and Manic flying into the far wall with a sickening, metallic clang.

"Ugh... man, what the heck was that... ?"

Manic murmured as he and Sakura slowly rose back to their feet. He got his answer as he looked up, the robotic form of Shadow stepping leisurely and ominously into the room. He gave them a cold, emotionless stare as he drew closer and said,

"I calculated that chances were I would find trouble here when Robotnik stopped receiving function signals from Swatbot 0279. State your names, allegiances and purposes or I will fire."

Of course, neither Sakura nor Manic were willing to back down, both of them going into a fighting stance as the mercenary leader barked,

"I don't think that's any of your business! Manic, I'll keep him busy while you start working on those Roboticizers!"

With that, she was quick to rush the Black Steel Hedgehog. Though wanting to help her with the fear that she might fall to such a strong adversary, Manic followed her command as he ran past the two combatants and activated his jet boosters, moving down the outside stairs at breakneck speed and starting to destroy the roboticizers that filled the area left and right.

Needless to say, several Swatbots and roboticized Mobians rushed in to try and subdue him. The Swatbots were hardly a problem now that Manic had had his abilities heightened by the Roboticization, the process of eliminating the Swatbots that came his way reminding him of swatting flies. The real problem was the Roboticized Mobians, Manic having a hard time disabling them without seriously harming them. He didn't want to strip them of their chances of being Deroboticized and returned to their normal states later.

A few more Swatbots came at him from the rear, Manic's sensitive hearing picking up the sound of their clanking metal feet. He whirled around and grabbed them before their electronic brains could process what had happened, the green Hedgehog slamming them into some nearby Roboticizers, killing two birds with one stone. He would have smirked if he had the time, but he didn't as he had to move quickly to one side to avoid some oncoming Robians.

"Man, they're swamping me! Having to work around all these Robians is seriously slowing me down!"

He thought to himself with vexation as he took a glance around the room, realizing that he'd only destroyed about a fourth of the Roboticizers by now and more and more reinforcements were pouring in to slow him down. There had to be a better way...

That's when a Swatbot blindsided him, sending him slamming against a nearby wall with a clang. Manic slid to the floor and grunted, glaring up at the Swatbot. That's when he saw something rolling out of his backpack after the fall: EMP grenades.

A low chuckle emitted from Manic's voice box as he rose, grabbing some of the grenades on the way up. This was his chance. He quickly activated them and chucked them into the crowds of robots, Swatbots and Robians alike, the EMPs going off amongst them and temporarily incapacitating them.

"Yeah!"

Manic yelled triumphantly as he grabbed a few more of the grenades, proceeding to go through a cycle of destroying Roboticizers and stopping every now and then to lob an EMP or two into a new slew of robots. At this rate, it wasn't long before he had all the Roboticizers destroyed.

"Now to help Sakura. I hope she's okay..."

He said to himself, activating his boosters again as he flew back up to the control room. Once inside, the sight he saw relieved him: Sakura was standing there, holding a temporarily deactivated Shadow by the nape of the neck. Even behind her non-organic eyes, Manic could tell by looking into them that she felt triumphant as she said,

"Mission accomplished. Let's move."

Manic nodded in agreement, the two of them flying out through a nearby hole in the wall that lead outside, the green Hedgehog presuming it had been blasted open during Sakura and Shadow's fight. It wasnt a doubtful assumption either, considering what he'd seen Shadow was capable of the last time they rubbed elbows.

The two flew quickly, alarms going off all over Robotropolis now that the entire city had been alerted of their presence. Security hovercrafts chased after them, firing laser after laser, but to no avail. Sakura and Manic were too fast and too far away, soon managing to escape Robotropolis unharmed and with Shadow in tow.

~*~*~

"Sakura... is that... ?"

Damien stammered as he, RJ, Vanna and Silver watched Sakura and Manic enter the base, the mercenary leader holding the deactivated form of her Roboticized Father in her arms. She gave a simple nod to the black Hedgehog boy in confirmation, heading into the tech lab and carefully laying Shadow down on an examination table. Manic looked to the others, who took noticed to his dinged and slightly beaten metallic form as he asked,

"How's the Deroboticizer coming?"

"Its coming along better than expected. It'll be ready for a test by tomorrow morning."

RJ answered, his eyes studying Shadow's unconscious form in a wary manner, as if cynical that he might have to fight should the Robian leap up and attack at any possible second. Vanna wasn't so leery however, moving to Manic and asking,

"How did the mission go? Are you and Sakura okay?"

"Mission went great. We're fine other than being a little dinged up."

He said with a chuckle, Sakura nodding in agreement and adding,

"All Roboticizer plans have been deleted and all Roboticizers destroyed. We got my Dad back as an added bonus, so he'll be one of the first to be Deroboticized."

Her tone was cheerful and happy, this being the first time Manic had ever heard her talk this way. It made him feel more at ease now that Sakura wasn't acting so tightly wound. It was as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

Everyone else noticed it too, glad to see their leader so happy. RJ walked to Sakura, gently taking her metallic arm as he said,

"The Deroboticizers can wait for a little bit though. Let's get you two fixed up for now."

~*~*~

The Deroboticizers were ready for a test run by the next day. Since they were good and conscious, Sakura and Manic were the first to step in and undergo the test run of the process. Manic was the first of the two to try it, coming out as perfect flesh and blood just as he had gone in the first time.

Sakura was the second to go in, everyone nervous about her Deroboticization as the wounds she had sustained prior to Roboticization were likely to return, but the blonde Hedgehog had insisted she undergo the process. To everyone's relief, she came out of the Deroboticizer fleshly and woundless.

"Looks like the Deroboticizer is a success!"

Damien announced joyfully. RJ nodded in agreement, then turning his eyes over to the Roboticized forms of Sonic, Sonia and Shadow.

"Now, about them... which one should we Deroboticize first?"

He asked, Sakura smiling a bit now that she had a fleshy and mobile mouth as she replied,

"Either Sonic or Sonia... I promised Manic I would get his Bro and Sis back to normal, and I always keep my word."

"Sakura, are you sure?"

Manic asked, his crystal blue eyes meeting her aqua green ones.

"What about your Dad?"

"He'll be back to normal in a few minutes mate. Like I said, I keep my promises. Your sibs first."

"Well, okay..."

He looked to his deactivated Brother and Sister, pondering for a moment before making his choice.

"Well, Sonic was born first, so I guess him."

Sakura nodded, watching as RJ and Damien carefully moved the blue Steel Hedgehog into the Deroboticizer. He was secured carefully to the table before the Black Hedgehog and the White Echidna went back to the control panel.

"Everyone ready?"

Damien asked, the group nodding in response.

"Okay, here we go..."

With that, he pulled the lever. The glass cylinder descended over Sonic with a soft, airy hiss before clicking at it rested into place. Light began to pulsate inside the vessel, everyone pulling their shaded goggles over their eyes as the process began. The light covered everything in the vessel, blocking everyone from seeing what was happening. It was a very tense moment, needless to say.

The light finally faded after what seemed like an eternity, everyone lifting their goggles to see the furry blue form of Sonic the Hedgehog. Said hero groaned a bit as he slowly came to, Damien and RJ going to him and undoing the straps that had held him securely and safely in place. Sonic blinked his emerald green eyes a bit, looking around in confusion before finally seeing Manic.

"Manic... what happened Bro? Where are we?"

He asked, understandably bewildered as he stood upright now that the straps were didn't say a word, simply rushing up to his Brother and hugging him tight. Sonic blinked a bit, wondering why his Brother was suddenly acting as if he hadn't seen him in a million years. That's when his sharp Hedgehog ears picked up the muffled sounds of a sniffle as Manic buried his face in Sonic's shoulder.

"Manic, are you... crying? What the heck happened man?"

The Blue Hedgehog asked, then blinking as he saw Damien and RJ out of the corner of his eye as they hauled something else into the Deroboticizer. Sonic turned his head to get a better look, his emerald green eyes widening.

"Is that... Sonia?"

"Yeah... you were both Roboticized Bro... but you're back now, and that's all that matters..."

Manic managed to say between sobs, Sonic feeling awestruck by what his Brother had just said as he embraced him warmly but shakingly. Had he really been... Roboticized?

He didn't have much time to ponder on it, RJ soon tossing him a pair of darkened goggles and saying,

"Better put those on. Don't want your eyes getting damaged by the light."

Deciding not to question it with all the queries that were already flying around in his confused head, Sonic simply complied and slide the goggles on over his eyes. He turned to look at Sonia's robotic form, watching as the cylinder came down over her... and soon deroboticized her.

"A... a working Deroboticizer?!"

Sonic blurted, Manic nodding a bit and wiping his tear stained face as his bewildered sister was unstrapped. She stepped off the platform, looking as confused as Sonic had.

"Wh-what just happened?"

She asked, Manic hugging her wordlessly. She blinked her lilac purple eyes, looking to Sonic as she hoped for some answer.

"Apparently we were Roboticized Sis..."

He said, scratching his head.

"But it looks like these guys have got a working Deroboticizer up and running and reversed it..."

"Whoa..."

Was all that escaped Sonia's lips as she hugged her brother close, said green Hedgehog smiling as he said,

"I missed you Sis... I was so scared I wouldn't see you two again..."

"Hey, its okay... we're here now... ssssshhh..."

Sonia said, trying to comfort him. Sakura couldn't help but smile as she watched them reunite, Manic noticing her watching them out of the corner of his eye. He smiled to her tenderly and said,

"Thanks Saku... I owe you big time... if it weren't for you, I'd..."

"Save it, mate."

She said simply, a cocky smirk on her face.

"You don't owe me anything. We're all in it against Robotnik together, and any enemy of Robotnik's is an ally of mine. If anything, I owed it to you to help you as an ally."

"Well said, Sakura."

A deep but smooth voice addressed to the blonde Hedgehog from behind. Sakura's aqua green eyes widened as she turned, finding herself face to face with Shadow. She was stunned silent for a moment, too shocked from both joy and some disbelief that this was real to do or say anything. The black Hedgehog simply smiled to her as he added,

"You've grown so much Sakura. Both physically and spiritually, I see. I can't tell you how proud I am."

Sakura felt tears sting her aqua green eyes just before she threw herself on Shadow with a tight hug, the black Hedgehog chuckling as he gently patted his daughter's back.

"Its good to see you again too, Sakura..."

Manic smiled as he watched the two, then turning back to his Brother and Sister.

"So, what happens next?"

He asked, more to himself than anyone as he knew that his siblings had no idea of what had gone on during their days as Robotnik's metallic minions. Sakura managed to stop sobbing long enough to turn to Manic and reply,

"We continue fighting Robotnik. He may not be able to Roboticize anyone anymore, but there are still plenty more Robians out there that need liberating, and I'm sure that bloody tub of lard has more tricks up his sleeve..."

Sakura looked to the floor a moment before raising her eyes back to Manic.

"And we're all in this war against Robotnik together. Manic... my mercenaries and I will join the Resistance. There's power in numbers, and the more power we have against Robotnik, the better."

~*~*~

The End


End file.
